Vans Warped Tour 2015, Denver CO 8/2/15
Warped Tour was interesting this year. I've been going to Warped for a good 10 years, and it has always been at Invesco Field (or Mile High Stadium, or Sports Authority Field, whatever you want to call it) and this year it was in the Pepsi Center parking lot, which was significantly smaller and with less grass to sit in and no cool bridge over the stages. I'm a little biased but I really really missed it being at Invesco and it sort of threw me off. However, I'm still really happy with my photos. It was just navigating the venue that was sort of annoying.
I really wanted to spend some time on these photos. While I managed to shoot more bands than I did last year, I wanted to be able to capture the essence of each band in my photos and edit them accordingly. Last year, I made a preset for my Warped Tour photos and edited them as fast as possible just to get them up, which was nice and all but it left a lot of my photos looking very similar. This year, I took my time and edited them in a way that I felt suited each band. (For instance, I felt that my PVRIS photos needed to be more on the purple side, whereas my Beartooth ones are very bright and perfect for the time they played, which was right around sunset.)
Like last year, I'll talk a little bit about each band and their set throughout this blog. Enjoy!
I Killed The Prom Queen - To be honest, I was a little thrown off that these guys were the first band of the day because they're just so amazing. But they had SO MUCH energy throughout their entire set. I got my first jump shot of the day in about one song, which I'm pretty sure is record timing for me, so that was pretty awesome. I also edited these photos a little harsher and grittier.
Escape The Fate - I shot these guys a while back and had some down time in the beginning of my day, so I figured the natural thing to do would be to shoot them again! Escape The Fate is just always so energetic and exciting, so I gave these photos some high contrast and bright colors. They're just too fun!
Transit - It felt so weird to be shooting these guys from a barricade. Last time I shot Transit was at The Marquis and it was insanity. They're meant to play small venues with crowd surfing and stage diving and sing alongs. So instead, I obnoxiously sang along from the barricade, which was pretty cool. I wanted these photos to be bright and vibrant because they were really happy on stage. (Also because it was super sunny and hot while they were playing haha)
Hundredth - This was actually one of the shoots I struggled with, unfortunately. I'm not unhappy with my photos of them, but I've definitely taken better ones at smaller venues that I like more. Hundredth is another band that shouldn't have a barricade haha. But I still walked away from this set with some photos I liked! My friend Jesus also hopped on stage and did some guest vocals during their set which was pretty sweet.
Neck Deep - I didn't take as many photos as I wanted to of Neck Deep, but I sadly only caught one song of theirs. They're always super fun to shoot, though!
Moose Blood - This was one of the few bands that I NEEDED to shoot and see this year. I've been listening to Moose Blood non stop for a while now and have been dying to see them live, and I'm really happy that I got to shoot them their first time in Denver. This was definitely one of the sets I took a lot of care in how I edited. I really wanted these photos to reflect them as a band.
Palisades - I totally accidentally ended up shooting these guys but I'm so glad I did! I loved their new album and really wanted to catch them the Warped but didn't think I'd have the chance to do so, so this was a nice surprise. I unfortunately only got to shoot one song, so there aren't a ton of photos.
Silverstein - I love love love shooting Silverstein. They've been one of my favorite bands since high school and I always jump at the chance to photograph them. This was purely me being selfish and shooting a band I really love, so there are a crapload of photos and I edited them very simplistically.
Riff Raff - This was sort of an unplanned shoot, and we really only got like one song, so there are only a few photos, but it was goofy and fun as hell!
Our Last Night - I really like shooting these guys, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity when I had some down time during their set. They're super fun. I wasn't really sure how I wanted to edit these photos, so I just focused on making them look pretty!
August Burns Red - These guys are way too much fun to shoot, so I couldn't pass up the chance to do so! Jake and his mic swinging really gives me a chance to take some cool wide shots. These are definitely some of my favorite shots from the day, especially with the way I chose to edit them, with a bit of a green tint and saturated colors.
The Wonder Years - I love shooting The Wonder Years, though for some reason this shoot was a little tough. I think I was partially distracted because I just finished up my only interview for the day and was getting back in the swing of shooting, and partially because I was freaking out about Soupy’s Bernie Sanders shirt haha. There are definitely some photos in this set that I really love, though. I also gave these photos more of a blue feel to them to match TWY’s backdrop and Soupy’s shirt.
Crossfaith - Please bear with me while I gush about how incredible Crossfaith’s set was. Seriously, if I could just shoot this band until the end of time, I would be happy. Their energy on stage was insane and they were too much fun to shoot. They really know how to put on a show. I wanted to edit these photos with the colors toned down a little bit, using a lot of black and white to keep it simplistic. This was easily my favorite shoot of the day. They were insane. 10/10 would shoot forever.
BoyMeetsWorld - I shot these photos for the upcoming issue of The Prelude Press. These guys were super neat and fun to shoot, especially a little up close and personal on a small stage like this one. Go check them out!
'68 - ’68 is so much fun to shoot. I shot them last year on Chiodos’ headlining tour and they were hilarious and super energetic. It was the same at Warped Tour, if not more so, and this set was amazing, especially when Josh started throwing his guitar in the air.
PVRIS - This is biased because I love them and was really looking forward to seeing them, but this was definitely one of my favorite performances and shoots of the day. This band is incredible and seeing them on a main stage was amazing. There were also some new editing styles that I really wanted to try out specifically on their set, so that was fun too. I definitely spent a lot of time finding the right way to edit these photos, as well, and I felt the purple tint really suited them.
Black Veil Brides - I’ve really been dying to photograph this band. I don’t really listen to their music, but I always see incredible photos of them and wanted to take some of my own! They didn’t disappoint at all and it was a ton of fun.
We Came As Romans - It has been like 3 years since I’ve shot this band, and somehow I had some free time during their set so I ran over and got some photos of them! I’m super in love with the way I edited these, too, as the colors match their amps
Mod Sun - The first time I saw Mod Sun was back when I was a Junior in high school. That was also the last time I saw him, sadly. Every time he has been through Colorado, I have missed him for some reason or another and never had the chance to photograph him until now, and it was so much fun! This dude is so freaking happy on stage, and it made for a really fun shoot
Beartooth - I love Beatooth so much. They were one of my must shoots of the day. They’re always so crazy and Kamron almost always climbs in the crowd, so I knew it would make for great photos, and I wasn’t disappointed. I’m also really happy with the warm way I edited these.
Asking Alexandria - I shot these guys last year at Mayhem and it was a ton of fun, so I didn’t want to miss them this time around. Their new vocalist (who I haven’t shot before) was super fun to shoot.
Miss May I - These guys have been one of my favorite bands to shoot for a very long time. Levi Benton is a really photogenic dude and he always poses well for cameras. This was the last band of the day, so the crowd was pretty wild, as well. It was a lot of fun!
